Over 50,000 crimes happen inside hotels each year, and these are often caused by a lack of security measures.

That’s why installing a CCTV surveillance system in your hotel should be your top priority. These cameras will reduce the risk of crimes in your hotel and allow your guest to feel secure and safe.

Take a look at this complete CCTV surveillance guide and how to maximize the use of security cameras in your hotel.

What Hotels Need CCTV Surveillance?

If your hotel as common problems of theft or illegal activity, you should install CCTV surveillance as soon as you can. This is especially true for hotels in unsafe locations or danger zones.

Hotels in these areas usually benefit from high priority security systems.

What if My Hotel is in a Risk-Free Location?

Even if you don’t get a lot of suspicious activity in your hotel, you need some kind of security system. This system is what will protect your hotel should anything illegal happen in the future.

The CCTV cameras will monitor and record video from various spots around your building. If something were to happen, the police could get access to the recordings. This can help clear your hotel from fraud lawsuits or provide valuable information in criminal investigations.

The level of security should always depend on the kind of guests that stay at your hotel. For example, a business hotel might have higher security than a luxury hotel. This system needs to have a closed network that can give complete privacy for guests with confidential information.

Hotels that don’t host a lot of important business meetings may not need such a high level of security.

If you have leisure facilities, particularly gyms and swimming pools, you should consider CCTV cameras to support your organisation’s safety objectives. You can’t have them in changing rooms, but consider how important a properly functioning CCTV system might be, with top quality images, in the event of an accident and where liability is called into question.

Regardless of the kind of hotel you have and the guests you cater to, you need a CCTV surveillance plan.

What Does CCTV Surveillance Do for Me?

CCTV surveillance is your protection. It lets you see what is happening throughout your hotel, and it discourages suspicious activity. Take a look at how security cameras help in these situations.

1. People Sneaking Inside

A few cameras installed by the entrances and exits lets you see if anyone who isn’t staying at the hotel sneaks inside. Often, just having the cameras there will stop most people from trying to get inside unnoticed.

2. Unauthorised Access

CCTV surveillance cameras also help keep intruders or uncategorised guests from visiting off-limit facilities, like the spa, the gym, or the pool. If someone does try to sneak in, you’ll know and be able to address the problem.

3. Makes Unseeable Places Seen

Putting cameras in places like storage areas, closets, and service corridors keep out of the way locations from being “out of sight” spots. This prevents any unethical activity from both guests and employees and reduces the risk of theft.

4. Makes Guests Feel Secure

Many guests feel more at ease when they know they have security cameras to protect them, especially in places like hotel parking garages. The cameras serve as their witness if something were to happen.

5. Keeps You Ahead of Competitors

People want this extra security in any hotel they visit, and will often go out of their way to choose a hotel with a good security system. Having this security will keep you ahead of your competitors.

Balancing Security and Privacy

CCTV surveillance is becoming more and more important for hotels, but you have to balance this with your guests’ desires for privacy. People want to feel safe, but they don’t want to feel like cameras are obsessively recording them.

When you’re installing CCTV security, you want to make sure you’re covering all the important locations without making your guests feel uncomfortable. Fortunately, you can do both without much trouble.

Keep Cameras in the Halls, Not the Rooms

Installing cameras inside guest rooms is illegal. A good way to get around this is to put cameras in the halls or key lobby areas instead.

Keep Cameras in Practical Places

It’s a good idea to have a lot of cameras spread out around your hotel.

You should always place at least two cameras at each entrance and exit so you can see who is coming into your hotel. You should also use cameras around the rest of the hotel, inside and outside, in places that will warn you of unauthorised activity.

But Make Sure These Cameras Don’t Compromise Guests

For any camera in facilities like a spa, changing room or bathroom, and make sure they can’t capture any footage of guests inside. You should avoid installing CCTV surveillance in these locations altogether.

Rooms with Sensitive Information Need Cameras

These include rooms that contain any kind of money or safe deposit boxes. Because of the valuable items inside, these are the places that will attract theft.

Do your best to keep the cameras in these rooms out of sight. If someone can see the cameras, they may be able to figure out a way to take what they want without letting the camera see.

Put Surveillance in the Forgotten Places

These are places like service exits and stairs. You may not think it’s necessary to provide security in these locations because guests don’t use them as often as other facilities. But having no cameras in these areas makes them good spots for suspicious or illegal activity.